Like any other companies, media companies have long dabbled in giving money to politicians in an effort to curry favor or protect their bottom lines. But News Corp.’s $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association isn’t business as usual – in either size or style.

And it’s got media analysts and political pros wondering just what News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch – the man behind Fox News and the Wall Street Journal — is up to now.

Political analysts said it was highly unusual for the company not to make a comparable contribution to Democrats, in the way most corporate givers (including News Corp.) usually give – both to hedge their bets and to maintain a sense of even-handedness. And the size of the donation, the largest corporate contribution to the RGA this cycle, was eye-opening for a media company.

“You certainly don’t see this happening every day, particularly to a seven-figure degree,” said Dave Levinthal, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, which runs OpenSecrets.org. “It’s definitely the exception and not the rule.”

Democrats charged that the million-dollar donation, first reported by Bloomberg Businessweek, was proof positive that Murdoch’s claim that Fox News is “fair and balanced” is a myth. “They’re bankrolling the GOP,” the executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, Nathan Daschle, said of News Corp. Some Democrats said it would be impossible for Fox to continue to claim objectivity.

News Corp. said the money went to the GOP because the company’s political action committee felt Republicans would create a favorable corporate landscape.

"News Corporation believes in the power of free markets, and the RGA’s pro-business agenda supports our priorities at this most critical time for our economy," News Corp. Spokesman Jack Horner said. He told the Washington Post: "It's patently false that a corporate donation would have any bearing on our news-gathering activities at Fox News or any other of our properties."

The contribution once again shined a light on Murdoch, the media magnate who became one of the world’s richest men by building a trans-Atlantic empire that includes Fox, the Journal, the New York Post and powerful outlets overseas. He’s known to lean right in his own politics – but isn’t shy about crossing the aisle either, once throwing a fundraiser for then-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, even though she was long one of the New York Post’s favorite targets.

Most News Corp. watchers emphasize that, despite the conservative leanings of Fox News’ primetime stars, Murdoch himself has shifted politically many times over the course of his long life, and is more concerned with making money than influencing political outcomes.

But there is one political outcome in the offing that the Republican Governors Association is particularly well-positioned to influence – redistricting of congressional districts, the line-drawing that can help make or break a congressional majority. Governors play a unique and powerful role in the process out in the states, and the primary driver for governors’ association contributions is the upcoming redistricting battle.

This year, 37 governorships are on the ballot, the most in history, adding extra fuel to the once-a-decade fight over the lines of congressional and state legislative lines. The next redistricting will happen based on the data from the 2010 census.

The battle, combined with the governors association’s status as 527 groups, meaning they can take unlimited amounts of corporate donations, helps account for the fact that both the DGA and the RGA have raised record amounts of money this election cycle.

Bloomberg’s Jonathan D. Salant theorized that the RGA contribution may have been directly motivated by business interests, since News Corp. opposes proposed federal rule changes that could weaken Fox’s position in negotiations with cable companies. He points to examples where governors have stepped in on such matters, such as when New York Gov. David Paterson called for binding arbitration in a dispute over feeds between Cablevision and ABC.

The Democratic Governors Association, which lags $18 million behind the RGA in fundraising for the first six months of the year, sent out a press release slamming News Corp.’s move, following by a fundraising plea based on it as well.

“Time and time again, Fox News has defended itself against accusations that it is nothing more than a tool of the Republican Party,” Daschle said in a statement. “We know now that the reality is so much worse: they’re bankrolling the GOP. Fox’s news division is ignoring the fact that its own parent company made a direct and unprecedented partisan contribution to defeat Democrats. This is hypocrisy at its worst, and a sad day for all of us who believe that an independent and impartial media is vital to our democracy.”

Of course, the DGA gets money from media companies too, just far less of it. DGA has gotten two contributions from Time Warner this year, one for $25,000 and one for $10,000.

But typically, media companies spread the wealth around. For example, Time Warner Cable gave $25,000 to the RGA this year as well. And News Corp’s PAC, News America Holdings, gave $30,000 to both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee, and $15,000 to both the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, according to June 26 filings on OpenSecrets.org.

During the 2008 election cycle, News America Holdings gave more of its $165,000 in donations to House Democrats than to House Republicans, though in the Senate the sides were switched, Andrew Belonsky reported at Death and Taxes. However, the PAC’s favorite Democrat was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

News America Holdings’ coffers are filled mostly by executives from various News Corp subsidiaries, such as Twentieth Century Fox, HarperCollins and Fox Filmed Entertainment, as well contributions from Murdoch and his wife, Wendi. Even Peter Chernin, News Corp’s former president and chief operating officer who donated exclusively to Democrats in his personal filings, gave to News America Holdings in 2007, Gawker reported.

“Looking at the quotes from News Corp, they seem pretty open and comfortable with what they are doing,” said Amy Mitchell, the deputy director of Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. “I don’t think News Corp is trying to deny or step away from what these actions suggest. I think the most important thing is, we don’t know why they are doing it.”